Terminal for electric wires.



G. 0. KNAUFR; I TERMINAL FOR ELECTRIC WIRES. APPLIUATION TILED OCT. 16,1311:

1,018,570. Patented Feb. 27, 1912.

QQM/ W 85% flliarney UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE.

enema c. mum, or cmcaeo, minors.

minimum m. morale wmxs.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that LGnonon Qlinamrr, a citizen of the United States, residing at'the city of Chicago, in the county of Cook and 5 State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Terminals for Electric Wires, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference 'being had to the accompany ng drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to binding posts or terminals for electric wires such as are used in the contact parts of rheostats or plug conpensive arrangement of parts, whereby the ends of a wire may be firmly secured to the terminal or post without the use of solder and without danger of damage to the wire. My invention is particularly applicable to miniature lamp sockets and stage connectors, in which it has heretofore been difiicult to obtain both a firm grip on the wire or to secure ood conductivity at the connection without it e risk of damagin either the wire or the insulating parts which sup ort the terminals to whlch the: wires are astened. "I have found that when wires are soldered to the terminals of small connectors or sockets having rubber or fiber as the insulating materials the insulation is often softened .or otherwise damaged by the heat of the soldering iron. If the connection ismade by slipping the end of the wire through a perforation and clamping it with a screw inserted through a transverse perforation, the screw is apt to jar looseand also to cut the wire. Likewise, if the wire is fastened by being wrapped underthe head of a screw, the edges of the screw head are aptto nick the wire and the screw itself willoften jar loose, thus causing a defective contact.

My invention consists of a novel method of clamping the ends of the wire between the terminal screw and the socket, thereby obtaining a good contact which is not readily loosened by jarring, and also of limiting the amount of pressure on the wire so that theparts will not damage the sameif the user should attempt to draw them up too tightly. I attain these objects by the mechanism shown in the accompanying drawing, in Which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a lampsocket fitted with the wire terminals of my Indication of Letters Patent.

Application fled October 18, 1911. Serial I0. 055,048.

nectors, and consists of a simple and inex-- damage can come to the wire.

invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the plug end of said socket; Fig. 3 is a similar section showing analternative arrangement of parts; Fig. 4 is a section of a contact button forrheostats as fitted with the wire terminals of my invention.

Patented Feb. 27, 1912.1

In the preferred form of my invention A Fig. 2) 1s a'member having an internally t eaded shank B at one end and a flattened port on Cat the other end. This flattened portion has a perforation D, through which theend of the wire may be'hooked, thus making the member A a screw-eye. Y

E is a casing or socket having a bore through which the shank or threaded end of the screw-eye or wire-hooking member A will readily pass. This bore is enlarged at one end to form a chamberG large enough to admit the eye-end of the screw-eye A when this has the wire hooked into it.

H is a screw threaded to fit the shank B of the screw-eye A and thereby adapted to draw the hooked portion of the wire tightly against the wall of the socket E at the point where this is reduced in bore. If this screw H were drawn up too forcibly the edges of the eye A and of the bore at J would be apt to cut into the wire and damage the same. I therefore provide a stop to limit the extent to which the eye member can be drawn toward the smaller bored end of the socket.

'This stop consists preferably of an enlarged end K on the screw-eye A, having shoulders L which will bottom in the enlarged bore of the socket by strikin the portion J so as to check the travel 0 the screw-eye before The screw or tightening member H may itself constitute one of the contacts on the device for which my invention is used, as in Figs. 1 and 2, where the heads of these ti htening screws H H impinge on theends 0% contact members M M through which the current is transmitted to the terminals U U of the lamp N by contact members V V; the arrangement of. these contact members being set forth in detail in my application of even date for a patent on a socket for electric lamps, Serial No. 655,049.

Instead of having an internally threaded screw-eye, the shank of the latter may be threaded externall member threaded internally as in Fi 3 where the contact member M consists 0 an internally threaded screw. Fig. 4 shows an allied construction, with an external and the tightening thread on the shank of the wire-hooking a ing member A,, which member is drawn up by a'nut O on one sideof the post P, which is held on the front of the insulation Q by a shank onthe contact button R.

Fig. 3 also shows an alternative form of is is obvious thatnumerous modifications may be made in the same without departing from thespirit of my invention. What I claim as new and desire to cover by Letters Patent is' -1. In a terminal for electric wires,- a"

socket having a tapered bore, a member hava shank at one end adapted to slip through the smaller end of the tapered bore of the socket, the said member having an eye at the end op osite the shank, into which eye the end 0 the wire is hooked, and means for drawing the said wire-hooking member into the tapered bore of the socket, thereby compressing the hooked end of the wire between the said member and the said socket.

2. In a fastening for electric wires. a socket member having a bore enlarged at one end, a screw-eye having a shank adapted to slip into the smaller end of the bore of the socket member, the other end of the bore of said socket being large enough to admit the eye end of the screw-eye with the end of a wire hooked into the eye of the same, in combination witha tightening member threaded to match the thread of the screweye, portions of the said screw-eye and said socket member being adaptedto engageeach other so as to limit the action of the tightening member. a

3. In a contact terminal for electric wires,

- a contact member having a threaded shank,

a screw-eye threaded to fit the said shank, a

socket having a bore into which the threaded portion of the screw-eye may pass, the said-bore being enlarged at one end to admit the eye of thescrew-ey'e, the said conhave only shown the preferred tact I, member being adapted to *draw' the screw-eye into the socket so as to compress the ends of a wire hooked into the eye of the said screw-eye.

4. In a' terminal for electric wires, a socket having atapered bore, a member-having a fshank atione end" adapted to slip through the smaller end of the tapered bore of the socket, the said member having an eye at socket.

5. In a fastening for electric wires, a

socket having a bore enlarged at one end, a

into the smaller end'of the bore of the socket member, the other end of the bore of said socket being large enough to admit the eye end of the screw-eye with theend of a wire hooked into the eye of the same, in combination with a tightening member threaded to match the thread of the screw-eye, and a stop for limiting the motion affected by said tightening member.

6 In a contact terminal for electric wires,

the distance to which the said screw-eye is drawn into the said socket.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, this fifth day of October A. D. 1911, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE G. KNAUFF.

Witnesses:

M. MENDELSON,

A. S. PHILLIPS. 

